Among the Narcissi

Some funnies for you business folk out there, or you people who think a meeting needs to be called for every damned thing.

We like meetings here. We have meetings to decide whether or not we need follow-up meetings and the answer is always "yes." I don't mind, since the conference room chairs are comfier than the one at my desk, and because I designed the pie graphs that are being projected on the screen. The downside is that sometimes you need an Office-to-English dictionary to understand the worthless business clichés being tossed around. The same phrases show up in every office, every day, and they always sound like total crap. During this morning's "ideation session," I made a list of my least favorites.

Thinking outside the box -- This one wins the "Most Overused" award, but I'm worried to say anything about it for fear of losing my job and having to take up residence inside a box.

There's no 'i' in team -- True. But there's one in "ambiguous." And a couple in "manic depressive."

Proactive -- I'm still not sure what this is, other than an acne cream advertised on those late-night TV commercials that try to convince us that Jessica Simpson has bad skin.

At the end of the day -- I think this means focusing on what's important, but in my world, "at the end of the day" I'm resisting the urge to race to the nearest drive-thru to gorge myself on a milkshake the size of the passenger seat.

Synergy -- Wasn't this an album by the Police?

Work hard, play hard -- You always hear this one during job interviews when they're trying to give you the impression that there will be parties and picnics after a long work week. But it really means that after a particularly trying 12-hour day, you'll get hammered with a guy from the Creative Department whose last name you don't know, and end up sobbing about how you always wanted to be a marine biologist. Tell that to the next job applicant.

Business-casual environment -- This is another HR department fave, since they think spending every Friday wearing a tacky polo shirt with the company logo stitched on my boob is somehow a privilege.

We're on the same page -- Oddly enough, the people who use this line the most are the same ones who have never read a book.

ஜ~§Quote of the Day§~ஜ

Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

ஜ~§The Question Of The Day§~ஜ

there's a lot to be afraid of when you're a kid. What was your biggest childhood fear?

ஜ~§The Word Of The Day§~ஜ

Irascible

PRONUNCIATION:
(i-RAS-uh-buhl)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Quick-tempered.
2. Showing anger or resulting from anger.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin irascibilis (quick to anger), from irasci (to grow angry), from ira (anger). Ultimately from the Indo-European root eis- (passion), which is also the source of irate, ire, hierarchy, hieroglyphic, and estrogen.

USAGE:
"Mr. Weir concludes from his large experience that the erection of the feathers is caused much more by anger than by fear. He gives as an instance a hybrid goldfinch of a most irascible disposition, which when approached too closely by a servant, instantly assumes the appearance of a ball of ruffled feathers."

ஜ~§What I'm Reading§~ஜ

I can't decide what I'm going to read next. I think I'll be re-reading some of the books that my SIL sent back to me. More Nora Roberts. If ya'll are looking for a series of books that'll make you crack up, you might want to try Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. It's a laugh riot!!!

ஜ~§What I'm Watching§~ஜ

Tonight is: TV Catch-Up night. WOOT! Everything from the last few days has recorded, so I'm a happy girl!!!

ஜ~§Poem Of The Day§~ஜ

Among the Narcissi

Spry, wry, and gray as these March sticks,
Percy bows, in his blue peajacket, among the narcissi.
He is recuperating from something on the lung.

The narcissi, too, are bowing to some big thing :
It rattles their stars on the green hill where Percy
Nurses the hardship of his stitches, and walks and walks.

There is a dignity to this; there is a formality-
The flowers vivid as bandages, and the man mending.
They bow and stand : they suffer such attacks!

And the octogenarian loves the little flocks.
He is quite blue; the terrible wind tries his breathing.
The narcissi look up like children, quickly and whitely.

Sylvia Plath

ஜ~§Recipe of the Day§~ஜ

Mediterranean-style Grilled Salmon





Ingredients:
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 salmon fillets, each 5 ounces
Cracked black pepper, to taste
4 green olives, chopped
4 thin slices lemon

Preparation:
Prepare a hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat a gas grill or broiler.

In a small bowl, combine the basil, parsley, minced garlic and lemon juice.

Spray the fish with cooking spray. Sprinkle with black pepper. Top each fillet with equal amounts of the basil-garlic mixture.

Place the fish herb-side down on the grill. Grill over high heat. When the edges turn white, after about 3 to 4 minutes, turn the fish over and place on a small section of household aluminum foil. Move the fish to a cooler part of the grill or reduce the heat. Grill until the fish is opaque throughout when tested with the tip of knife and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part reads 145 F (about 4 minutes longer).

Remove the salmon and place on warmed plates. Garnish with green olives and lemon slices.

( This recipe is from the Mayo-clinic website, I've been perusing through there to find healthy low cal recipes for my folks. Those good people are on a diet again. I'm thinking of introducing them to the Bento Box. I'll talk more about those tomorrow. :) )

Brightest Blessings,
~S~